CL Synergy marks a decade of making a difference

Completing a decade of service since their humble beginnings in September 2004 with only 14 employees, CL Synergy has metamorphosed itself to emerge as a key player in the logistics and freight forwarding industry not only in Sri Lanka but throughout the South Asian region.

With their ability to bring in new talent and match the ever-increasing expectations of customers by using state-of-the art technology, CL Synergy’s rise to prominence is no surprise to anyone who has followed their journey from Day One.
The company is now committed, more than ever, to enhancing its service standards way beyond traditional boundaries by providing specific and customised solutions to suit the needs of their vast clientele.
Sri Lanka’s recent economic growth coupled with the current administration’s focus on developing critical infrastructure and the vision to make the island a regional maritime and commercial hub has presented the industry with a plethora of opportunities.
In this context, the role that a 100% local company like CL Synergy can play is invaluable. The company’s role was once limited only to sea and air freight forwarding. Today, CL Synergy has expanded itself to be a full-fledged freight forwarding solution provider, offering varied services from air and sea freight forwarding, customs house brokerage, sea and air services to regular export and import, consolidated containers, transhipment operations, warehousing and land transportation.
In addition to diversifying its services in the logistics, transport, technology, travel, investment, manufacturing and trading sectors, CL Synergy has explored new horizons in the region. It has ventured into the Indian subcontinent, prudently breaking into new and emerging markets in the region. The company has now marked its presence in India and Bangladesh as well. This is all a result of CL Synergy’s unrelenting drive toward success.
Managing Director Roshan Silva said: “Before I started the company, I was in the freight forwarding industry since 1996 and I had a vision to start my own business. What makes us standout amongst our competitors is that CL Synergy is a completely local company. With many world giants and multinationals in the industry branching out to Sri Lanka, the competition facing CL Synergy is fierce and aggressive. Of course this is challenging, but we overcame this with vast improvements in the volumes we handle.”
Roshan says he always knew that he wanted to start his own business. Ever since he completed his secondary education, he engaged in small business initiatives but it was only when he was in university and started working for a freight forwarding company that he decided to begin this venture.
Roshan attributes this success to their loyal and dedicated staff. He says every member of the staff shares his unrelenting drive to see the company reach new heights.
“Our vision is to be the leader in the new generation of the logistics industry by providing innovative solutions to customers. Talent and commitment from the top to the bottom of the company is the strongest indicator of our success. At CL Synergy, we like to think of employees as assets. The right assets, if managed correctly, create value.”
CL Synergy has introduced an innovative strategic model called ‘In Partnership’ adopting a customised handling procedure as per the individual needs of different customers. The thought process behind ‘In Partnership’ is treating each client as a partner rather than a customer.
Equipping itself with state-of-the-art technology, the company has improved the quality of its service, especially with an around the clock track and tracing facility which allows the client to monitor and receive updates on all activities and processes from the time of loading up until the final delivery.
CL Synergy has received many accolades during the decade of its existence. Among these are the Silver Award for the Best Service Providers to Exporters (Large Category) at the National Chamber of Exports (NCE) Award Ceremony 2009, the Bronze Award of NCE Best Service Providers to Exporters – in the same category in 2011, Freight Forwarder Partner for the year 2012 and Gold Award in the exports category by Maersk Sri Lanka and the Service Excellence Award in 2010 by APL Sri Lanka. Furthermore, obtaining the Sri Lanka Logistics & Freight Forwarders Association membership in 2007, active member of the Executive committee since 2009 and FIATA membership in 2008 are key milestones in the CL Synergy journey.
CL Synergy has taken steps to integrate environmental sustainability into their everyday operations. Total greenhouse gas emissions were identified as per WRI/WBCSD greenhouse gas protocol by Cambridge Partners, Australia.
Subsequently the company’s total carbon footprint was offset through an investment on a hydro renewable energy project registered with CCX registry under Verus Carbon Neutral, USA. Adopting these forward-looking practices by aligning profit goals with environmental sustainability has made CL Synergy a truly socially conscious venture.
Today CL Synergy has two other freight companies within its group: Eagle Logistics Colombo Ltd., ASB Freight Ltd., SALOTA International and Global Logistics. Furthermore, the company has diversified into other sectors and now manages CLS Transport to cater to the road transport requirements, CLS Technologies to handle technological solutions, SLS investments to undertake finance disciplines. Furthermore, CL Synergy as a group represents a larger number of companies worldwide including large international networks, regional networks and individual agents with more than 500 partner offices worldwide.
Given the bottom-line success of CL Synergy within the short time span of 10 years, it stands to reason that other companies, within and beyond their industry, will be studying their model.